Gifts of Life
by aorinappollo
Summary: Jeremy Fitzgerald has been working as the night guard in Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria for two months. A simple mistake led him to "befriend" the animatronics, new and old. Except for the mysterious Marionette, who seems to dislike his presence. Why is Marionette so cold to him and other adults? He claims that they had ruined his life, somehow. (A bit AU-ish, Contains OCs.)
1. Chapter 1: The Marionette

Jeremy Fitzgerald, security guard of the well-known Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, tapped his fingers on his desk, watching the tablet he had on his other hand. The Freddy head was on his lap, and his free hand was trembling, ready to grab the head in case the animatronics get him. He sighed, and flicked the flashlight, and saw Foxy on the hallway. He kept seeing the robotic fox ever since he started working on this place, two months ago. He needed money to pay his rent, since his father had already been working hard to pay for his tuition fees.

He then flickered his flashlight on the robotic fox nonstop, making the pirate buzz from the sudden lights. With a dull "bloop" noise, he slowly walked to the other side, leaving Jeremy alone. The young adult sighed in relief, checking the air vents. Huh, no one there. They must have gotten bored. Or, they could have given up on trying to stuff him in a suit. _Good. _He thought. _The farther they are from my office, the better chance I last 'til six am._

While the young guard was so busy checking the lights and cameras, he had completely forgotten to wind up the music box next to him. It had stopped playing it's peaceful tune of "My Grandfather's Clock". Unaware to Jeremy, the lever of the box started winding itself backwards, playing another tune. It was faster and more hyped than the first melody, known as "Pop! Goes the Weasel."

Jeremy yelped, and grabbed the music box, winding it as fast as he could to keep the creature from the prize corner at bay. Truth to be told, he hadn't seen it before, but was told it looked a bit like a puppet. Sounded a bit creepy to the young guard, so it's better to wind it as fast as he could! "How could I forget something that was playing loud tunes and was beside me?! Argh!"

While he was furiously winding the music box, Balloon Boy had crawled out the vent. He crawled in while Jeremy was panicking about the music box, and had failed to acknowledge his presence. As he was about to do his signature annoying mass of giggles, he noticed the music box Jeremy had on the desk. The balloon vendor blinked, before suddenly realizing the situation. _Huh? Did the night guard forget to..? Oh! He's in big, big trouble! Better warn the others 'bout this!_

"Hello!" Balloon Boy greeted, his balloon and sign on hand. His greeting had echoed across the dark building. "Hi!" He said, and proceeded to repeat those words over and over again. Jeremy immediately tucked in the music box, and attempted to flicker his lights, failing at it completely. Balloon Boy started laughing louder, alerting all animatronics in the building. His giggles annoyed Jeremy enough and he attempted to throw the music box at him.

Meanwhile, at the Parts and Service room, Foxy had become alerted of Balloon Boy's presence at the office. "Hm?" Foxy uttered to himself, before grinning. "Aye.. The little lad must'a got in tha office!" He laughed, before dashing off from the backstage to the office. The sound of laughter also alerted the three Toy Animatronics on the show stage, the Mangle on the Kid's Cove, Chica on the Dining Area, and just the sound of Foxy's clanking feet awoke Bonnie and Freddy from their little nap.

"Shit!" Jeremy cursed, taking the mask on. He was about to prepare himself for Foxy's attack, before he felt something else lunge at him.

..

"Gwah!" Jeremy yelled, falling over. Balloon Boy stopped laughing, as the other animatronics got together outside the office, and peeked in. Mangle was hanging from the ceiling, the Toy Animatronics peeked carefully while Toy Chica removed her beak slowly, and the old models were behind the Toy robots. Balloon Boy's normally cheerful face quickly turned into a bit of confusion and fear, once realizing who attacked Jeremy. "Huh?!"

It wasn't Foxy, since it wasn't heavy and he didn't feel a hook pierce his skin. Instead, he felt a soft body pressing onto his, and he looked at his attacker's eyes, nearly screaming again. It had a white face, black eyes with white pupils, violet tear-stains and red cheeks on it's face. It had a frown on it's face, before growling. Jeremy pushed the creature off him, as he moved into a corner.

The creature attempted to stand, but ended up nearly crashing against Jeremy's desk. Balloon Boy was quick to assist him by pushing against his back, as Mangle crawled inside, wanting to help the soft-bodied creature. It didn't seem to have an endoskeleton, as it couldn't even stand without the animatronics helping him. Toy Chica stepped inside, and wrapped it's arm around her neck, then smiling softly. "Don't be hasty!"

It surprised Jeremy that one of the animatronics managed to talk, and it wasn't even scary! Toy Chica's voice sounded like a teenage girl's, so it wasn't threatening to the young night guard. The creature Toy Chica, Mangle, and Balloon Boy assisted, started to lean forward and started making more growling noises.

This time, the faceless Bonnie went inside. "He wants to go near the guard." He said softly, before pushing his back against the corner. Toy Bonnie went inside the office and looked around. Toy Freddy and Freddy were outside, cautious, but a bit concerned for the lanky creature. Chica however, huffed, and turned her back, not caring about the situation. Foxy remained where he was, one metal hand in the pocket of his torn up brown shorts.

Jeremy looked at the weird thing again, and this time, it managed to stand a bit, still relying on Toy Chica's help. "..What are you doing here? Get Out." It said, it's voice void of all emotion. By the sound of it, it sounded like a child. A male child, to be specific. Jeremy only blinked at this, irritating it further. "Did you not hear what I just said? I said.. _Get Out._"

"Marion!" Balloon Boy cried from behind the creature that he addressed as Marion. "He's the night guard I keep telling you about! He comes back every night, and he won't go away! He's been here for two months!" The balloon vendor cried, waving his arms frantically. That resulted to the balloon he was holding to float up to the ceiling, making Balloon Boy more upset. "Waaah!"

Everyone sighed and shook their heads, a bit annoyed at the humanoid's childish behavior. Marion himself also made a sigh, turning his head away from the shaking night guard. Mangle, who was assisting him, looked at him confusingly. "..Hm, Vixen, please get his balloon. He will rant all night if we don't get it back somehow." He said, managing to lift up his left arm. As Mangle crawled up to get the balloon, Marion and Toy Chica stared at the night guard, expecting him to budge. ".._You're _the guard my animatronics have been buzzing about? _You're _the guard who manages to restart Foxy's system by flickering your flashlight? _You're _the night guard my animatronics have a hard time getting rid off?"

It seemed that Marion was insulting him, so Jeremy, reluctantly, decided to answer back. He stood up, making himself realize he was as tall as Toy Chica. A bit smaller than the old models, but as tall as the Toys. He was also a bit taller than Marion, making Jeremy a little confident. "Y-Yeah! So what if I am?!" He said, acting a bit tough by puffing up his chest. Chica finally turned around and she marched in the office, her beak wide open.

"You can't talk to Marion like that! He's the guy in charge 'round here!" Chica snapped. Jeremy was a bit frightened at her scary appearance. Her jaw was broken, eyes wide open, and her arms were missing! She had to be the scariest one around, if it wasn't for Balloon Boy's grin. Balloon Boy was practically a demon child!

Marion slowly managed to get his feet on a perfect position, allowing him to stand. Toy Chica was still on his side, as the puppet had a hard time trying to stand. "..Hm. You're brave. I'll give you that. Still, I want you to get out." He said, as he flailed his arm. "You can't stay here any longer, Night Guard. You've been a bit trouble for my animatronics." He pointed out. "Hmph. I'll spare you. But if I see you here tomorrow night, and you forget to wind my music box, I won't be forgiving." He slipped himself out of Toy Chica's help, and as he was about to turn and leave, he fell flat to his face. "Umfph!

"Marion!" Freddy cried from outside the office. "Are you hurt?!"

Marion muffled something, before he felt Jeremy's hands lift his lanky body, observing him cautiously. Marion made an annoyed huff, trying to flail his body. "Let me go! I can stand by myself, thank you very much!" He snapped. Toy Chica was about to assist him again, but seemed to stop once Jeremy made a frown. Jeremy's frown disappeared once he noticed the time. It was 5:59 am, and they were all gonna freeze once the clock strikes six.

As Jeremy predicted, the animatronics all froze in place. Mangle was on the ceiling, holding Balloon Boy's Balloon, Balloon Boy was beside Chica and Toy Bonnie, Bonnie was beside Chica, Toy Freddy, Freddy, and Foxy were all outside, and Marion was on the floor. Wait..

Marion was still blinking.

"Well?! Now look what you've done! Now I have to do something, and drag them back to where they stay!" Marion growled, still trying to escape Jeremy's grip. "Let me go already!"

Jeremy, who had been afraid of the puppet, had started chuckling. "W-Wow.. you're the so-called terror of the prize corner? You can barely walk, let alone, stand!" He laughed. He then realized that Marion was still active, compared to the others. "A-Anyway.. you're still moving! Shouldn't you be.. shut down?"

"I don't have an endoskeleton, stupid!" He snapped. "You're lucky I'm not ordering Foxy or Vixen to bite your head off, you stupid adult!"

"I'm not even a legal adult yet!"

"Oh really?! How old are you?!"

"Sixteen!"

Marion stopped flailing as he heard the age. True, he wasn't a legal adult, but.. "Then what are you doing here?! Didn't the boss tell you how dangerous this job is?! Or did that money-loving-stupid-adult trick you into thinking this job is safe for all ages, that even infants can do this hell of a job?!"

"What's your problem with adults?!"

"I hate them! They ruined my life!"

Marion managed to flail out of Jeremy's grip, and he started crawling towards Balloon Boy's idle body. Jeremy flinched once he saw Marion _push _the balloon vendor outside of the office. Jeremy's jaw dropped when he saw Marion push Balloon Boy _and _Toy Chica outside. Marion glared up at Jeremy, and continued to push the two animatronics. "What? The clock says your shift's over, so get out."

Jeremy didn't reply as he picked up his stuff and left Marion to push the others back to their respective places.

* * *

><p><strong>My headcanon for Marionette is that he really hates adults and young adults. He likes children, since that's what the Fazbear Crew do; amuse kids. When around kids, he tends to be sweet, a bit childish, and overall "adorable". However, once everyone has left and the night guard has entered the building, he becomes a bit rude, insulting, and stubborn. He cares for all animatronics, and dislikes it when someone manages to destroy some of their body parts. Marion is also physically strong, since he's able to knock Jeremy off his chair. But.. he can't stand. He can stand once his music box has stopped winding, but that only lasts for a few seconds. Because of that, the others help him.<strong>

**Well, this chapter might have suck, but I got a lot of stupid headcanons for this game..**


	2. Chapter 2: Marion's Promise

_Wow, that was one heck of an animatronic. _Jeremy thought, as the train stopped to his station. His class started at 8:00 am, meaning Jeremy only had an hour of sleep. There were dark circles around beneath his eyes, showing that he hadn't slept in a while. _Heh. Two months of robotic animals trying to kill me, and not getting enough sleep. How wonderful._

"Yo, Jeremy!"

Jeremy turned around, and saw his friend, Fritz Smith, a student who aced at computers. Fritz went up to him, a grin on his face. "So, I managed to um.. view, some of Mr. Gerard's profile on the school records, and.." As he kept rambling, Jeremy sighed. Fritz was a terrible liar, and he didn't view their teacher's profile, as far as he was concerned. He hacked the school records. Again. For the sixth time this year, without getting caught by the principal! Mr. Gerard was aware of Fritz' talent, but hasn't told the principal yet, for some reason unknown.

"Well at least your night's been a blast." Jeremy mumbled. "I've got ten problems to deal with, and they're all at that creepy pizzeria!" He groaned, slapping his own forehead. After meeting the very grumpy puppet called Marion, he was a bit afraid of what the lanky doll might do to him. He was physically strong, demonstrated as he managed to push two animatronics who were bigger than him outside the office and back to their respective rooms, he was "in charge", as all animatronics listened to him, and he was serious with keeping the pizzeria adult-free.

"Hey, hey. Chill, bro. If ya can't handle it, just quit. That simple!" Fritz said, waving his hand. "Geez, you really made a poor career choice, working in a place that has bad rumors around it. Have you heard? After their first location, Fredbear's diner was shut down, they started another one, the first Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. The animatronics are Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, and two special characters named Golden Freddy and The Puppet." Fritz explained. "There was this psycho guy who killed kids, and he disguised himself as Golden Freddy! He lured five children to the storage room, and the children's bodies were never found."

Jeremy shuddered. He heard about that from another night guard, named Mike Schmidt. According to Mike, a week after that incident, the animatronics had started smelling as if they were plucked out from a junk shop and had been bathed with filthy animals. He still wondered, why was Fredbear's Diner shut down? More importantly, who is Golden Freddy and who is "The Puppet"? What made them different from the rest?

"I'll look it up for you tonight, Jer." Fritz smirked. "It's 'cause we're best bros!" He said, as he smacked Jeremy really hard on the back. The brown haired boy yelped from pain, and made a glare at Fritz. "Let's go, we're late for class!"

...

As soon as class was over, and it was lunch time, Jeremy headed for the cafeteria. He fell asleep on class a couple of times, and receiving an earful from his teachers didn't really make Jeremy feel better. He sighed. That stupid puppet from last night crept him out too much!

He then stopped walking and thought about the serious animatronic from last night. What if he was the puppet from the old Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria? No, impossible.. According to the janitor, the "creature that dwells within the prize corner" was obtained when the Toy Animatronics, plus Balloon Boy, arrived. Turning around, he saw Fritz, being bullied again.

He sighed, dropping his bag to the corner, and marching up to the delinquents again. He knew them for years now, and the kid was named Wilbur Lidar. A bully during his elementary days, and during high-school, he was well-known for his constant harassing of students. "Wilbur, for the last time, stop bugging Fritz!" Jeremy scolded, still pretending to be the tough student he wasn't.

Wilbur scoffed, and his lackeys started chuckling from behind. "How was your night, Fitzgerald? Was it nice to work at a place filled with ghosts? Heh, I can't believe you're so desperate for a job, that you'd actually work there! It's filled with filth, just like you!" He laughed, then proceeded to leave Fritz, who had puffy cheeks. He stuck out his tongue as their backs were turned, and huffed.

"Don't let 'im bug you, Jer. Those are just rumors!" Fritz huffed, dusting the dirt of his shirt, and standing up with the aid of his best friend. "Besides, he's just jealous that you can survive five nights at that pizzeria, while he can't even last five minutes!" Fritz said, grabbing his bag. Jeremy picked up his own, and the two friends started walking towards the canteen again.. only to be stopped by Mr. Gerard.

Fritz froze, and gulped, wondering if he was in trouble for looking at Mr. Gerard's personal information. Their homeroom teacher was holding his cellphone on one hand, and the other was on his pocket. The older male wrinkled his nose, before approaching Jeremy with a clearly disappointed look. "Fitzgerald, I am upset that you fell asleep three times in class today. Why not work somewhere else? A job that won't take away your resting time? Plus, your job doesn't even pay you much." He pointed out. He removed his one hand from his pocket, only to put the other hand, the one that was holding a cellphone, in his pocket instead.

Jeremy scratched his head. "Uh, I don't have any good skills, besides managing to baby-sit kids, animals, and apparently, robots." Jeremy shrugged. "I can save enough money to pay for my rent, Mr. Gerard. And, uh.. it's not that hard." He was lying, which wasn't a thing he did much. But hiding from the robots was becoming easier and easier with each passing night. Although, he had no idea how to prevent Marion, other than winding the music box. Marion seemed aggressive and physically strong.

"If you say so.." The teacher uttered, still worried. "If you think you'll be able to handle it, then I won't stop you. As for you.." Mr. Gerard approached Fritz, who had looked a bit nervous and pale. "Smith, if you _dare _spread anything you found out about me, I will inform your parents of your shenanigans and I will make sure they ground you, and confiscate your gadgets." He said, a smile on his face. Fritz turned paler, and uttered a _Help Me _to Jeremy, who smirked, and left his friend at the mercy of the scary teacher.

...

It had been a few hours after school had ended, and after Jeremy's afternoon nap, he headed towards the pizzeria, carrying three flashlights to make sure the animatronics stay as far as they can. _Hm, it would be a good idea to talk to that.. thing again, but he told me to stay out. Plus, he seemed to dislike it whenever the music box stops playing. _Jeremy thought, as he opened the door to the creepy building. _Hm. It's 11:55. Better get to the office, before that.. thing catches up to me._

He noticed the door to the prize corner was slightly opened. Jeremy decided to peek in, and looked around. There were stuffed toys everywhere, and in the middle of the room was a giant gift box. He opened the lid, and nearly jumped out of his skin once Marion popped out of it, mildly annoyed. It's eyes were pitch black, unlike last night.

"What?! Lifting the lid off my box isn't something you should just do!" He growled, before realizing it was juts Jeremy. His eyes suddenly lightened up, showing his white pupils. "Oh. _You. _Didn't you get my warning last night? I said get out." He said, tugging on the lid of the box, which was being held tightly by Jeremy. "You don't need to stay here to watch them. I can do it myself. And get your hands off the lid of my box."

He knelt down in front of Marion's box, sighing. "Look. I get paid to do this job, and there is no way in hell I am quitting. I need this job to get money, and I need money to buy food, pay my rents, pay my bills.. you know, stuff that adults should be doing. But no, my father's hands are already full with paying for my tuition, my mom and dad are divorced, and I have no siblings I can rely on. So, I'm gonna stay here, as long as I need to, whether you like it or not."

Marion growled. "You know, I can order my animatronics to stuff you in a suit. Heh, as far as I'm concerned, they know you're human, but I already made it a rule to this place that.." The pupils on his eyes disappeared. "No adults allowed." He hissed. "Besides your stupid boss. The janitors are teenagers, so I don't care." He said, waving his hand around. "Your shift will start soon, hm? I'll make it a very hard night for you, Mr. Fitzgerald."

Jeremy twitched. Marion hated him a lot, and this was his proof. "Argh.. For a puppet, you sure are a mean one.."

In an instance, Marion pounced on Jeremy, his pupils appearing once again. His hands were on Jeremy's neck, as if he wanted to choke him. His expression also changed from calm and smug, to angry and pissed off. "Do not call me 'puppet'! I have a name, and it's 'Marionette'! I do not appreciate anyone, especially adults, calling me a puppet!" He said, as he got himself off Jeremy, and crawled back in his box. Jeremy immediately stood up, and placed the lid back.

_"I guess it's better to keep his music box wound up all night. After all.. he seems to be the leader of the animatronics."_

* * *

><p><strong>So, I added Fritz here. Wilbur and Mr. Gerard will be more than just minor characters in future chapters, and might affect everyone in the pizzeria. Headcanon for Jeremy is that he's a bit stubborn, careless, but has a good heart and acts brave when he sees his best friend get bullied.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3: Another Side of Marion

Marion was an ass for keeping true to his promise. He made Jeremy's night harder than ever. Foxy and Bonnie wouldn't leave him alone, BB was constantly laughing, Toy Chica had appeared more than once.. it was hell.

Marion was inside his box, humming the tune of "My Grandfather's Clock". He liked how peaceful and happy it sounded, and it kept him calm. He kept hearing Jeremy's screams, Balloon Boy's taunts, Vixen's radio static, and the knocking on the walls. He grumbled of how annoying Balloon Boy's laugh after five minutes had gone by, but was happy to know that the balloon vendor took his orders seriously. Vixen was the name Marion preferred over Mangle, as he preferred the name Marionette, instead of The Puppet. It just seemed.. mean, to call Vixen, as if she was a mangled mess.. which she is.

As the tune stopped, another tune began to play, causing Marion's patience to immediately drop. He growled and kicked the lid off his box, using his temporary time to throw himself to the office. "Stupid guard. Can't take a hint, can he?" He grumbled.

...

"Crap!" Jeremy cursed. Toy Chica and Toy Bonnie were in the vents, Bonnie was in front of him, Balloon Boy was inside, Mangle was on the ceiling, and Foxy was outside. He knew he was dead, and Marion was the cause of it! _Stupid puppet and his hatred of adults.. _He thought bitterly. If he dies, his father could catch a break. If he dies, Fritz will be picked on by Wilbur until he graduates! His boss wouldn't want to clean up another bloody mess if he died.

"Well, we seem to be having a party around here."

Jeremy stared at Marion, who was dragging himself into the office. "Everyone, if you do not mind, I need to have a chat with our friend here. Bonbon, please assist Bonnie back into the parts and storage room. Vixen, you have the same task as Bonbon, but assist Foxy. Balloon Boy and Toy Chica, please tell everyone that our mission is clear. Take a break now, or prepare yourself for tomorrow morning." The puppet said, as the animatronics left the office.

Marion pulled himself up to Jeremy's desk, arms crossed. "See? I can order them to get rid of you if I want. This is the reason I told you to get out." He said, crossing his legs. "Look. You're not an adult yet, and if you do become one, I won't hesitate to let my animatronics kill you. And my music box is special to me, because it keeps me calm. If it stops playing it's tune, I become.. murderous." He said, eyes darting over to Jeremy. "Point is.. I don't like you. Get out. Wind my box first, though."

Jeremy made a look. "I told you! I need money! Leave me alone, go crawl back into your box, you stupid puppet!" He snapped. He then covered his mouth once he realized how hurt Marion looked.

Instantly, Marion's sad expression turned into a pissed off one. He pounced on Jeremy, wanting to choke him. "What did you say?! Take that back! Y-You.. meanie!" He yelled. "Why're you so mean?! First you make Foxy restart his systems with your stupid flashlight, then you attempt to throw the same flashlight at BB! You're mean, I hope you get ran over by a passing truck!"

Instead of answering back, Jeremy looked at him with confusion. Marion had been good with insults and had been calm while saying them too. But his insult, or "meanie", was downright childish. The fact that he stuttered made Jeremy feel as if he made him feel worse. "Um.. sorry. I was just in a bad mood. D-Don't cry, I mean.. y-you already got enough tears on your face, right?" He joked. Jokes always cheered kids up, and if he acted like one when he was upset, maybe those would cheer him up.

Or make him resist the urge to just choke him and drag him to the Parts/Service room.

Marion got off him, frowning. "Good. I accept your apology." He grumbled. Wanting to storm off, he had once again, fell flat on his face. He had wanted to mumble a curse word, but it was hard to do so. "Help me up, the floor is cold and it smells like rotten cheese mixed with vinegar, sweaty clothes, and blood. Ugh. People barely clean this place, no wonder we're in a pickle with the restaurant."

Jeremy blinked, before picking him up by his head, his body dangling. This proved that Marion was lighter, and had no endoskeleton, seeing as he couldn't stand for long. Jeremy checked his watch. "Oh. 5:55. Might as well put you back in the box, instead of letting you crawl back in." He mumbled, exiting the office. He looked around for a moment, and spotted Balloon Boy. He must have heard the conversation. Or part of it.

"Um.." BB tried to say. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, Marion, buuuuut.. your yelling was so loud, that the Toys sent me to investigate. You were throwing a tantrum, weren't you..?"

Marion huffed. "N-No I wasn't. I mean, that's stupid, childish-"

"Yes he was. He was pretty upset when I accidentally insulted him." Jeremy reminded.

Marion smacked him on the head. "Time's nearly up, Fitzgerald, get me back in my box!" He demanded. "BB, return to your area this instant. We'll have a busy day later. Birthday party, remember? I need you to pump as many balloons as you can later. Children are quite bratty and demanding these days." He told the humanoid robot.

BB smiled and nodded. "Okay!" He chirped, before wandering off.

As Jeremy headed towards the Prize Corner, he opened the lid and placed Marion in the box, who had somehow managed to stay quiet and not insult him during their little trip. Marion looked downwards. "Thanks.."

Jeremy grinned. "No prob. It's an apology for screaming at you. I see you just want to protect the animatronics.. right? I mean.. Chica respects you, you call Mangle 'Vixen' for some reason, and BB listens to you. S-So you must care about them, right?"

Marion looked at him. His face was a mixture of confusion and annoyance. It's as if Jeremy asked the most stupid question in the world. "Why shouldn't I? They're my family, so of course I'd do anything to prevent them from being destroyed. The originals were nearly scrapped because of their current state, so I just want to protect them from people, mostly adults, who'd want to destroy them. They're kid entertainers, and.. they're not murderers."

Jeremy seemed confused at this. "What do you mean? Didn't they stuff people into suits?"

Marion huffed. "As if I'd tell you. For now, that's what you should know. Unless needed, I won't tell you anything else. But if you want me to tell you something else.." He looked at him, his white pupils staring into his soul. "Bring me something from outside. Anything." He demanded. "Except food. I don't eat. I can, but I don't want to. It's not needed to live. Plus, it'll ruin my fabric."

"Uh.. what should I bring you, and why do you want an offering?" Jeremy asked. Marion sounded like a demanding, bratty kid. But he didn't scream or yell, instead, he was keeping his dignity. Or what was left with it.

"Haven't been outside, numbskull." He retorted. "I can't go outside, since I'm restaurant property. Children always bring random stuff from outside, so I'm curious. Hanging out in a box isn't fun, especially when there's nothing to keep you occupied. I want something interesting. If you don't bring me anything, I'm not gonna tell you anything. Life here is all work and entertain, scare and kill the guard if he's a legal adult, and there's no fun during break." He added.

Jeremy's watch beeped, and he looked at the time. Six o'clock. "I gotta prepare for school. I'll look for something I can give you later." He said. "But only because I'm curious!"

Marion made a smile, which caused Jeremy to look at it in shock. "Deal!"

* * *

><p><strong>You know the world's ending if the cold-hearted Marionette starts smiling at you and asking you to bring him offerings.<strong>

**Headcanon that Marion throws tantrums often. Whenever he gets upset, he's unable to think of proper insults.**


	4. Chapter 4: A Disturbing Arcade Machine

_"What would Marion like? If I can dig deeper into the reason why the animatronics were killing the guards, I may be able to convince them to give me a break and stop killing those innocent people." _Jeremy thought, as Mr. Gerard continued on with his talking about supernatural. _"He acted pretty hurt when I insulted him, and he sounds like a kid. Maybe a toy or two. I still have some old toys at my house. His box might be dark, so I'll give him something that glows. Something that might keep him occupied for awhile."_

Once class was over, Jeremy debated on whether he should give Marion a toy or a book. _"He seemed pretty happy when I agreed to giving him something. Don't the kids give him anything at all?" _He thought. _"He did say kids are demanding sometimes.. maybe they don't appreciate him at all. Hm.. maybe something that'll lighten up his box. Yeah, that would work."_

"Hey Jeremy! According to the principal, school's ending early today! There's an emergency meeting, because lots of parents complained about Wilbur's treatment of the other students! He's gonna get what he deserves, Jer!" Fritz cheered. "We got a lot of time on our hands! Whaddaya wanna do? I don't do my marvelous hacking of a hobby 'til everyone's asleep!" He said proudly. Jeremy sighed. Hacking was a crime, and Fritz would get arrested if they found out what he was doing. While he wasn't doing anything serious like hacking bank accounts, he was seeing sensitive information. But he wasn't using them to blackmail anyone.

Jeremy thought for awhile. "Fritz, are you aware of any stores that sells glowing toys? Like, toys that glow in the dark or something?" He asked.

"I heard there are glowing toys for prizes at the restaurant you work for, since glowing toys at department stores are pretty expensive these days. I mean, my aunt's friend's sister won a glowing ball from that creepy pizzeria. What's the stuff for?" He asked, eyebrow raising. "It's also quite a miracle you didn't sleep in class or look frantic. Something happen last night?"

Jeremy scratched his head, nervously grinning. "It wasn't as hellish as it usually was. Well, for the first few hours, yes, but.. it got easier. How about going to Freddy's for lunch? I'll attempt to win a glowing toy, since tickets are cheap and are practically the currency at the prize corner. I haven't been to the game corner before, which is funny, sine I work there. But I can't leave my place." He sighed. "Against the rules my ass.. I can't leave my place, but the animatronics can."

"That must suck." Fritz commented, although he was a bit hesitant to agree to Jeremy's invitation. "But I always wanted to investigate the place you worked at. It'll be fun!" He cheered.

* * *

><p>It was a bigger hell than it was at night.<p>

Children were screaming, ranting, crying, or laughing too loud. Parents were either at their seats, or being dragged everywhere by their kids. Onstage was Toy Freddy, Toy Bonnie, and Toy Chica, performing some songs. The originals were probably at the Parts/Service room, seeing as their dismantled state will probably scare the kids. Mangle's parts were everywhere, leaving the staff to pick it up and put it back in Kid's Cove.

"What the hell are you doing so early, Fitzgerald?"

Jeremy saw his boss, looking at him like he had just stepped on a dog. Or something less cruel. "Being here early won't increase your pay." He said, lighting up a cigarette. "Poor Vixen's being torn apart everyday. If you want a place quieter, go to the prize corner. No kid goes there, unless they got hundreds of tickets." He said. "Oh, and one more thing. Unlike at night, if you wind the box, ol' puppet there'll pop out. He'll give you a prize or something if you have tickets. Or you can ask him how much tickets it'll cost for a prize. At night, he's quite the opposite, eh?"

"Um, okay." Jeremy answered, dragging Fritz with him. "Thanks for the info, boss."

As they went to the Prize Corner, he heard Fritz mumble something. "Your boss is an ass." He said, as he followed Jeremy. "But what does he mean that it's.. different at night, Jer?"

"Don't listen to him. He's trying to scare ya." Jeremy lied.

The prize corner was cleaner than it was yesterday. Toys were lined up everywhere, and so were balloons. There wasn't many people around, considering all of them were at the game corner. Jeremy spotted the music box, the same one he uses at night. Picking it up, he started to wind it, as the tune of "Pop! Goes the Weasel!" started playing. Jeremy was about to stop, fearing that Marion might attempt to kill him for forgetting to wind the box. _"Marion's not stupid enough to attack during restaurant hours. Nor is he as stupid as to throw a tantrum during work. That would be like he's throwing the fact that he's sentient."_

Instead, the box's lid opened slightly, as sharp fingers gripped the edges of the box. Slowly, a head popped out, before it's body was pulled up by strings. "Welcome to the Prize Corner! I am Marionette, the prize giver." He said. However, his so-called happy attitude dropped when he noticed Jeremy was in front of him. As he managed to lower the strings a bit, he looked at Jeremy with a face of annoyance and embarrassment, probably from his attitude towards kids. "You're early, Fitzgerald. Hmph, not that your pay would increase, you stupid "guard". You can't even last five minutes without wetting your pants at the sight of _Balloon Boy _of all robots." He said in a quiet voice, making sure no customer heard how sentient he was. "Why're you here? Here to die early? Hah, I'm not as stupid as you. I'm not gonna kill someone in broad daylight. It'll take a longer time to dispose the body. Maybe I should hide it in my box. No, it would dirty my box."

Jeremy sighed. He's back into hating him, isn't he? His whispering was fortunately quiet, and Fritz didn't seem to notice Marion moving close to Jeremy, as he was scanning around the room looking for something. "How much tickets does it cost to get a glowing toy?" He asked, getting straight to the point. Even Marion seemed to notice who wasn't going to snap unlike earlier.

Marion hummed a bit. "The cheapest is a glow-in-the-dark ball. Only for five tickets. Most people don't tend to get one, since they prefer plushies and other merchandise." He explained, then sunk a bit into his box. "Why do you ask?"

He had no idea, which was good. "Eh. Nothing special."

"If you're planning to win some tickets, the easiest way to gain them is through a certain arcade game." He said, slowly sinking into his box. "Try the black and white arcade at the back of the game corner. Ask BB where it is, but tell him to keep his mouth shut." He demanded. "I'm gonna give you tokens, but you need to pay up. That other employee, Mike Schmidt, will collect the money later. I'll give you fifty tokens for ten bucks. Cheap, huh?"

Jeremy nodded, handing over the money. Marion took it, and placed it somewhere in his box, as he gave Jeremy a pink and red spotted pouch that contained the tokens. "T-Thanks, Marionette." He wasn't sure if he was allowed to use Marion's nickname yet. "I promise I won't tell Fritz, or anyone about you guys being sentient! I'll tell BB your rule, so no need to worry."

Marion huffed. "I can't risk anyone knowing that we can remember info such as last night events. It'll cause suspicion." He said, grabbing the lid to his box. "But. If you _ever _tell anyone, and that includes your stupid-adult-glasses-wearing-red-headed-companion, that we're sentient beings, I won't hesitate to murder you in my box the moment you get near." He growled, going back inside.

"..You're seriously not gonna open up to me, huh?" He muttered. Marion poked his head out of the box, a bit entertained.

"You're an adult, stupid. I will never get along with people _your _age, dummy."

* * *

><p>"Welcome to Game Corner!" BB giggled, as kids ran inside, failing to acknowledge his presence. As they an off, he sighed. He wished they'd acknowledge his presence more, but he guessed it was natural. He then arranged the balloons once again, noticing a familiar face. His robotic eyes widened, as he made a defensive stance, preparing to hit the person with his sign and balloon.<p>

_"Hey! It's Mr. Night-Guard! Why's he here so early?" _He thought. _"Is he here to make Marion cry again?! Ooh, I'm gonna hit 'im! If he's gonna make Marion cry, I'm gonna send Foxy and Vixen to attack him! Bite his frontal lobe off!"_

"Whoa, so cool!" Fritz commented, at the sight of Balloon Boy. "This one's a humanoid robot! Sweet! He's the size of a standing toddler, made out of plastic, and he's carefully painted!" Fritz said, as he started inspecting the round robot. BB was slightly scared of Fritz's observant behavior, so he hastily handed out a red and blue striped balloon. "Amazing! It knows when there's a human in front of it! Thanks for the balloon!"

Jeremy grabbed Fritz's arm and sighed. "You're scaring the crap out of BB. Let's go, you need to teach me how these arcade games work. The black and white machine is the easiest way to gain some tickets."

BB made sure to keep his voice in a robotic and slightly childish way. "If you're looking for a certain machine, please describe!" He lied, fully knowing what game he was talking about. "Freddy and his friends have been programmed to know as such!"

"Awesome!" Fritz commented.

"Uh.. A black and white machine at the back of the game room?" He asked hesitantly. To Fritz, it may seem like they have been programmed expertly, but to Jeremy, he could see how Balloon Boy had this stare at him.

BB pretended to "process" the words, and opened his mouth to speak. "The game is called "Give Gifts"! Follow meeeee!~" He giggled, happy to have an excuse to leave the spot he was always standing on. As the three walked around the game area, he spotted four boys, mixing their tickets together, with their parents trolling behind them.

"You think it's enough?" One boy asked his friend.

"Certainly! It's more than enough!" One replied.

Jeremy and Fritz continued to follow Balloon Boy, who had stopped in front of an arcade machine. As Marion said, it was black and white, and on top had a pixelated sign that read "Give Gifts". Balloon Boy made a quiet sigh, before making a fake smile again. "This is it! I b-better return to my spot now!" He said hesitantly. He left the two without another word.

Fritz crossed his arms. "Is he alright? He seemed less cheerful. Did it have something to do with his programming malfunctioning or something?" He asked, obviously concerned. He was interested in how everything worked, so he was concerned when things that usually didn't break down, well.. broke down.

Jeremy shook his head. "Erm.. he was programmed to be upset once his time to uh.. help, was done. Yeah, like a kid! You know how they act once their time to be useful is up, ehehehe.." he lied. "Uh, so we better start." He said, as he slipped a token into the machine. The screen lit up, as Jeremy stared at the controls. A joystick, and a single red button. "So.. for each point I get, that's the amount of tickets I get..?"

Fritz face-palmed himself. "Dude, for each level you clear up, you get three tickets. It's a common rule here in the pizzeria." He said. "So.. the instructions on the wall state that you move around with the joystick, up, down, left, and right. And.. to "give gifts" or do an action, press the large red button. Fairly simple game, and each level has four kids that you need to give gifts to in thirty seconds. As the level progresses, the time ticks down faster. Got that?"

"Yeah."

"Good. You press the button. I move the player."

* * *

><p>They were currently in level ten as of now, and had already gathered thirty tickets, more than they need. But Jeremy decided to get random merchandise later. As they finished the tenth level, both panted, hands aching. "One more round." Fritz said.<p>

Suddenly, the screen started flickering. All of a sudden, the player, which was a purple sprite, was replaced by a black ghost, seemingly wearing a white mask with empty eyes, and tear stains. Instead of children wearing colorful clothes, they seemed to be lying down, clothes white and red. The game was making a disturbing buzzing sound, making the noise "mi" so often.

Jeremy blinked, slightly cringing. "Uh.. A glitch..?" He said, somewhat shocked.

Fritz shrugged. "..L-Let's just get this over with. L-Level eleven seems disturbing.."

As Fritz moved the "ghost" he noticed how it's eyes glowed white all of a sudden. As Jeremy pressed the button once they got near a child, something bothered both of them.

Instead of a present, there seemed to be an animatronic's head. It was purple with something sticking out of it, possibly ears. _".. Old Bonnie?"_

As they continued the level, heads of Chica, Foxy, and Freddy appeared to each child. However, the character started moving towards the middle of the room. Fritz stared at it in disbelief, as he tried to move the joystick. "It's stuck in one place! What the hell is going on?"

Suddenly, a loud shriek emitted from the machine, and started spitting tickets. While Fritz was focused on why the machine had suddenly broke down, Jeremy noticed words on the arcade machine. The machine was blinking between white and black, and white pixelated letters were on the corner. Jeremy read the text, backing away slowly as he read something disturbing.

**_"It's Me"_**

* * *

><p><strong>The arcade game is based off the death minigame "Give Gifts, Give Life", but instead of it being a jumpscare of Golden Freddy, I decided to make the machine break down and spit tickets. That way, Fritz is distracted, and only Jeremy is able to see how disturbing the arcade game was. They probably have about a hundred tickets from now..<strong>


End file.
